PRECISION FARMING - ENVIRONMENTAL LEGITIMATION, COMMODIFICATION OF INFORMATION, AND INDUSTRIAL COORDINATION

Precision farming-use of digital geographically referenced data in far ming operations-is the leading example of a cluster of emerging inform ation technologies in agriculture. To date, the vast majority of acade mic and promotional literature addressing precision farming has focuse d on the field and farm-level economic and environmental benefits of s ite-specific allocation of crop inputs (fertilizer, pesticides, and se eds). In this paper, we question popular perceptions of the technology and pur sue a sociological analysis through identification of consist encies between precision farming and the political and economic requir ements of an industrializing agriculture. Through promotion of a publi c commitment and a technical mechanism to mitigate farm chemical pollu tion, precision farming legitimates chemically-based agriculture in an era of rising environmentalism. Further, precision farming is based o n, and will advance, the commodification of agricultural information-a ppropriation of field and farm-level decision processes through substi tution of capital for local knowledge. By automating farm-level data c ollection and information management and by reducing agriculturalists' reliance on public sector agricultural research and extension, precis ion farming supports further integration of on-farm activity into a co ordinated system of industrial manufacture.